Department of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180 006 India.
Indian J Microbiol. 2008 Jun;48(2):202-15. doi: 10.1007/s12088-008-0033-2. Epub 2008 Jul 27.
Modern biotechnology has a steadily increasing demand for novel genes for application in various industrial processes and development of genetically modified organisms. Identification, isolation and cloning for novel genes at a reasonable pace is the main driving force behind the development of unprecedented experimental approaches. Metagenomics is one such novel approach for engendering novel genes. Metagenomics of complex microbial communities (both cultivable and uncultivable) is a rich source of novel genes for biotechnological purposes. The contributions made by metagenomics to the already existing repository of prokaryotic genes is quite impressive but nevertheless, this technique is still in its infancy. In the present review we have drawn comparison between routine cloning techniques and metagenomic approach for harvesting novel microbial genes and described various methods to reach down to the specific genes in the metagenome. Accomplishments made thus far, limitations and future prospects of this resourceful technique are discussed.
现代生物技术对新型基因的需求不断增加，这些基因可应用于各种工业过程和转基因生物的开发。以合理的速度识别、分离和克隆新型基因是开发前所未有的实验方法的主要动力。宏基因组学就是这样一种产生新型基因的新方法。对复杂微生物群落（可培养和不可培养的）的宏基因组学是生物技术目的新型基因的丰富来源。宏基因组学对已经存在的原核基因库的贡献令人印象深刻，但尽管如此，这项技术仍处于起步阶段。在本综述中，我们比较了常规克隆技术和宏基因组学方法在收获新型微生物基因方面的优缺点，并描述了各种方法来深入研究宏基因组中的特定基因。讨论了迄今为止取得的成就、该技术的局限性和未来前景。
